| The dimensions
are (and remember, all can be adjusted): Table Height: 2.4 ft;
Table's Back Height: 5.2 ft (back also tilts); Table's "seat"
(sort of if it were a chair): 3.2' x 2.5' and it takes down easily,
and can be reassembled in minutes if you have to take it on location
(or store it in your closet whenever the spouse wants the living
room back :). It weighs just under 24 lbs! |
BONUS! Custom Carrying Case included!
Check my other auctions for some
great pro strobes to go with this wonderful photo table. You
can e-mail me with
any questions or requests, as well.
|
The Phabulous Photo
Table
This (apparently) simple,
but surprisingly ingenious Photo Table is one of the most amazingly
helpful pieces of photographic equipment ever invented for the
photographer who ever has a need to photograph small items or
objects!
This innovative piece of equipment allows us to make some amazingly
creative and visually arresting photographs of ordinary items.
First, it lets us set up and start working quickly and easily.
Next, it's almost infinitely adjustable, so we can change it
whenever we want. And, it holds paper rolls as well as any Diffuser
Acrylic Background (a sort of a translucent, white plastic material
you use for the background of the objects you're photographing,
and which can be made to appear almost any color or shade you
like, simply by lighting it from the rear with a strobe or hot
light with a color filter over it. This technique also adds a
background "glow" that looks fabulous! This is especially
wonderful when photographing glass or plastic objects, by lighting
from below; see the "technique" section below).
Basically, this is a product photographer's dream; you can do
a whole catalogue's worth of items in a single day, and also
make the background or product's "surroundings" look
either completely consistent, or amazingly different just by
changing paper rolls, or lighting white paper differently, or
using color gels over your background light(s). As you can see,
this is sort of a combination product table and background stand,
so by curving the background, you eliminate the horizon, just
as you can with a backdrop stand setup. All in all, a wonderfully
helpful system for both efficiency and (more importantly) creativity!
Yet another "secret" why the pros can do such great
work: they have the right tools for the job! AND, they can CONTROL
THE LIGHT! Try it, you'll like it. ESPECIALLY at this low, low
price! Please be aware that this setup is the photo table FRAME,
as illustrated; however, it does not include the paper
rolls or backgrounds (which are available at almost any photo
store or photographic supplier), and there is no shelf included
(if it was a chair, the "seat" would not be included).
I had a piece of plywood cut to size, to use as the shelf. I
also drilled a small hole in the center of the plywood shelf,
which I use to shine a light through from the bottom for "glowing"
glass and translucent objects. See the "technique"
section below for more on this subject.
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Technique: Another great suggestion regarding photographing
glassware (or any transparent, semi-transparent, or translucent
objects): Yes, it is a difficult subject to properly photograph
(especially clear glass objects), but it can be done with a little
equipment - like this Photo Table (and a little creativity).
A GREAT technique to use to make glass objects look truly magnificent
and visually striking, with the photo table, is to place your
glass object right over the hole (drilled through the shelf)
or use a piece of transparent or translucent plastic or plexiglas
for the shelf, and light it from below! The light shining up
through the hole (or the plexiglas) will make the glass object
"glow" beautifully (here, though, you might want to
consider using a black background, and let it underexpose to
pure, pitch black; the "glowing" glass object will
appear to "float" and can look pretty damn fantastic
(when done properly)! If you add a color filter (just a piece
of colored cellophane or plastic) over the light shining up from
the bottom of this setup, you can give it (your glass or plastic
object) lovely colorful highlights that will just amaze the viewers!
Using 2 or 3 different colors can add some really dramatic highlights!
Of course, with the Photo Table, you can even try this with "regular"
hot lights to get an idea of what amazing effects can be accomplished,
although strobes will give you more creative options. If you
can't afford to buy a Photo Table, take an old chair, punch out
the seat, and use it for your "poor photographer's"
photo table. "What? Is this guy crazy or something,"
you're probably asking yourself. "Why is he telling us this?
Shouldnt he be trying to sell us stuff instead?"
Hey, sure I'm in business to sell photographic equipment, but
I'm also a person (just like you), who enjoys photography and
who would rather see you make great pictures, than to try to
squeeze the baby's food money out of you. If you can afford to
buy a Photo Table, great! Place your bids right now! But if money's
tight, make a "poor photographer's photo table," with
an old chair, and then blow your client's minds with some phenomenal
photographs! Then you'll make a ton of money photographing products,
and you'll come back and buy the real photo table from
me (since the professional photo table is, of course, much more
versatile, easy and convenient to break down and fit into its
custom carrying case when you need to take it on location and
make the pictures at your client's warehouse - or stash it in
the closet when the spouse want's the living room back - I have
no doubt you'll toss out that flea-bitten old chair just as soon
as you can afford the real thing:). Thanks for viewing this auction,
best of luck, and check out my
other auctions for lotsa great photographic equipment! Back to top of page
Quickie Technique #4: Exposure - All meters built into all cameras
are "reflection" meters; they read the light reflected
by our subjects AND everything else in our viewfinder! This often
causes incorrect readings, and pictures that turn out looking
like doo-doo. Instead of letting our camera's meter read the
exposure from our whole frame, either zoom in to fill
the viewfinder with our subject (i.e., the face of our subject,
or the flower's petals, or the black cat's coat, etc.), or, if
you're not using a zoom lens, walk up close to our subject, fill
the viewfinder with the most important part of our subject (i.e.,
the face, etc. as described above), then, when our viewfinder
is filled with our subject and NOT with the surroundings, lock
in exposure (e.g., press the shutter button half-way down), and
zoom out or back up, re-compose the shot, and then
press the shutter button all the way down and make the exposure!
I think you'll be amazed with the results! More "quickie
techniques" information will be included in my other auction
descriptions. Thank you for viewing this auction, and may you
have the very best of luck! Tell me more about getting perfect exposure... |